The Point of Beginning

It’s almost impossible to determine the commencement of the United States. Our U.S. history books discuss the settlement of Jamestown as well as the Pilgrims arriving at Plymouth Rock as symbols for the dawn of America. What if I told you, there is a spot in East Liverpool, Ohio considered to be “the Point of Beginning” for the modern day United States.

In 1785, the Geographer of the United States, Thomas Hutchins, and his men met at the three-way intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia to survey the “Seven Ranges” of Ohio. This survey was considered the first mathematically designed system and land registry in the nation. The mapping started by Hutchins became what is today the Public Land Survey System. As the United States expanded westward, the survey system followed with it. Today, the system developed at the Point of Beginning includes states as far west as California and Alaska.